Parents of Michigan school shooter set for manslaughter trial

Jan. 22 (UPI) -- In a rare attempt to hold parents accountable for a child's mass shooting, the parents of Oxford, Mich., school gunman Ethan Crumbley are set for trial on manslaughter charges this week.

Jennifer and James Crumbley -- charged with four counts each of involuntary manslaughter in the Nov. 30, 2021 shooting -- will be tried separately, with arguments in one or both cases set to begin Tuesday.

Their son, Ethan Crumbley, was 15 when he killed four fellow students at Oxford High School: Tate Myre, 16; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Justin Shilling, 17. Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty in 2022 and was sentenced in December to life in prison without parole.

His parents, accused of buying him the gun and not doing enough to secure it, appealed their charges to the Michigan Supreme Court, which refused to hear the case in October. They have argued the gun was always properly stored and they could not have known their son was planning the rampage.

It is rare, but not unprecedented, for parents to be charged for the criminal act of a child. However, this may be the first case that involved a mass shooting at a school.

Robert Crimo Jr. -- the father of Highland Park, Ill., shooter Robert Crimo III -- served half of a 60-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to reckless conduct in November for getting his 19-year-old son the gun that was used in the Fourth of July parade attack that killed seven.

In December, Deja Taylor -- the Virginia mother of a 6-year-old first-grade boy who shot his teacher -- was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to neglect for using marijuana while owning a gun.

According to court documents, Ethan Crumbley began to show a pattern of self-described "paranoia" in early 2021 in a series of text message exchanges with his mother -- which she did not reply to or take seriously.

It was later discovered Jennifer Crumbley's cellphone had photos showing herself and James Crumbley riding horses taken at the time her son sent the texts.

"I will cause the biggest school shooting in Michigan's history," Ethan Crumbley wrote in a private journal, it was later found. "My parents won't listen to me about help or a therapist."

Court documents said that at one point that Ethan Crumbley told a friend he had asked his parents for mental help. Instead, it was alleged Ethan was given pills and told by his father to "suck it up." His mother laughed at her son's request for help because "she did not believe he had any mental health issues, but was instead using drugs."

None of that prevented James Crumbley from aiding his teenage son in the purchase of a 9mm Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft Sauer handgun, the documents say. The day after receiving the weapon, Jennifer Crumbley took her son to a shooting range to practice using it.

It was not until Nov. 29, 2021 -- the day before the school shooting -- that Jennifer Crumbley make an effort to find mental help for her son. That was the day Ethan Crumbley was caught by a teacher looking at handgun ammunition online. The school told his mother, but Ethan Crumbley downplayed hit to his mother, who told him to be more careful to not get caught.

The next day, another teacher saw disturbing drawings on Ethan Crumbley's math worksheet and reported it to a school official. Following an "assessment" and a "bizarre" meeting with his parents, he was allowed to remain at school.

Later that day, at 12:21 p.m., Jennifer Crumbley sent her son a text message asking if he was okay. He responded he was fine and just finished eating lunch. She then texted, "You know you can talk to us and we won't judge."

He replied that he was aware, thanked his mother, apologized and said he loved her. Less than 10 minutes later, Ethan Crumbley went into a restroom with his backpack, came out and began shooting -- killing four classmates and injuring six others.

Minutes later, he was in police custody.

In October 2022, Ethan Crumbley plead guilty to 24 counts, including charges of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree premeditated murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder, and 12 counts of possession of a firearm during commission of a felony.

He was sentenced Dec. 8.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen D. McDonald announced that James and Jennifer Crumbley were being charged on Dec. 3, 2021, with four counts of involuntary manslaughter.

After temporarily leaving town, the couple were taken into custody the next day and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Michigan law allows involuntary manslaughter charges to be filed if authorities believe a person contributed to a situation in which the likelihood of harm or death was high. If convicted, Jennifer and James Crumbley could face up to 15 years in prison.